Premier of Western Australia
13th Floor Dumas House
2 Havelock St
WEST PERTH WA 6005
Via E-Mail:
Roger.cook@mp.wa.gov.au
wa-government@dpc.wa.gov.au
CC The Hon Rita Saffioti MLA
Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Tourism
Via e-Mail:
Minister.Saffioti@dpc.wa.gov.au
CC The Hon Sue Ellery
Minister for Finance, Commerce and Women’s Interests
Via Email:
Minister.Ellery@dpc.wa.gov.au
CC The Hon Simone McGurk MLA
Minister for Training; Water and Youth
Via Email:
Minister.McGurk@dpc.wa.gov.au
CC The Hon John Carey MLA
Minister for Planning, Lands, Housing and Homelessness
Via Email:
Minister.Carey@dpc.wa.gov.au
Dear Premier
The Home Builders Action Group [HBAG] congratulates you and your Government in its initiative in convening the Building Industry Round Table.
Your presence and the presence of your Ministers showed the Government is sensitive to the problems the Round Table addressed and how serious and widespread they are. HBAG recognises that the Government must prioritise the interests of home buyers, potential home buyers, renters and the homeless and that there are many more of them than there are small to medium sized building companies. But HBAG also believes the solutions to the problems of all groups are the same.
HBAG wants to work with your Government. It was established in response to the builders who contacted me and our other executive members about the very difficult trading problems they are experiencing. And there are many of them.
And HBAG stresses that many of the dsolutions to the problems confronting the home building industry do not require funding. For example: The review and changes to the Home Building Contracts Act (1991) requires only a level headed assessment of what is needed to meet the very different financial and economic circumstances now impacting the industry. In an unfortunate misapprehension, many commentators believe it is in the consumers’ interests to leave the Act unchanged, for example, to prevent or limit price rises. Well, that’s not in anyone’s interests and businesses go broke when they can’t pass on fair and justified price rises. Then everyone suffers, especially homeowners.
HBAG is anxious to support your Government as it welds its membership into a cohesive and persuasive group committed to solutions, not problems.
Please don’t hesitate to have one of your advisers contact me should you require any further information.
Best Wishes
Yours sincerely
Jason Janssen
0412 373 404
CHAIRMAN
Home Builders Acton Group